Please Don't Tell

             
             
             
             
Please Don’t Tell

             
             
             
             
             
By:Kelly Mooney

             
             
             
             
             
Chapter 1

I’ve always had a crush on Peter Watson and for the life of me couldn’t figure out how he didn’t know. There had been so many times that I’d thought he’d felt the same because of the things he remembered whenever we saw each other. Like how every time we stopped for Gelato he didn’t need to ask me what flavor I’d wanted. He’d just know. Or, if we’d been visiting his family in London over Christmas he would take me to Harrods to watch the live ice skaters grace the window displays. And, much to his dismay, he’d take me to watch the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace because he knew how much I’d adored it. It had been those special little things that caused me to justify falling in love with Peter. So, I convinced myself that he was completely to blame for arousing the hormonal teenage girl in me.

I began staging pretend wedding with my faithful teddy bear in the role of Peter at age five. I can still remember giggling at times about what I’d do if he ever caught me kissing Teddy or if he knew how many times I fantasized about being his wife.  At sixteen, I still fantasized about being Mrs. Watson, only without the pretend nuptials.

We’d always been close friends, well as close as a six hour flight from London can get you.
My mother and Peter’s mother grew up in the outskirts of London together. They’d lived next door to each other and had been best friends ever since. Even though she wasn’t my aunt, my mother insisted my brother and I call her that since their friendship had always been more sisterly. That bond afforded me several visits each year. When we were younger, we would spend all our vacations together. If we couldn’t go to them, they’d come to us. Now sadly, it had been chopped down to only one blissful week a year.

B
ut last year had been finally different.
All these years, so many dreams. We’d been on the beach for one of our nightly moonlit walks on our yearly vacation. It was our final night seeing each other for a whole year.The beach was mostly deserted as we strolled through the surf.  I kicked up some water, splashing him and that’s when he grabbed my hand and spun me around into his arms. Then something magical happened. Peter finally looked at me like never before. He pulled me in closer and sighed, placing his hands on either side of my face. We stared into each others eyes for a moment. I was dizzy with anticipation. It was nothing like I expected. Peter was a far better kisser than Teddy Bear. I don’t know if he kissed me or if I kissed him, but either way, our lips found their way to one another. Despite my nerves, I let myself get lost in that moment, my hands started to roam through his beautiful brown wavy hair and I uncontrollably deepened the kiss. A minute later, he pulled away and smiled, but instead of kissing me again, he reached down and grabbed my hand, walking me back to the hotel. Not exactly the reaction I’d hoped for.

Peter acted like nothing happened the entire walk back. He’d rambled on about his studies for the upcoming year or about his dreadful cousin Ethan. Once we arrived to my room, he gave me an awkward hug and said goodnight. That was it. No lingering kisses in the hallway goodnight. The next day before we left, he quickly pecked my cheek, hugged me in the hotel lobby and promised to call soon. I stood there for what seemed like forever waiting for him to run back and say something...anything, but he didn’t. It wasn’t until the shuttle pulled away from the curb that I let myself cry knowing I wouldn’t see him for another whole year. And gauging on his reaction to our first kiss, this left me an entire year to worry about what would happen at our next vacation.

Last summer when Peter had kissed me, it was nothing like I imagined it to be and I was totally unprepared. That kiss changed everything last year.  In that year I’d only received three letters from Peter. And, not once did he mention the kiss. This was not like him. We’d always found a way to reach out to each other. We usually talked on the phone, Skyped and wrote letters all the time. We have since I was ten and not once did he ever blow me off with lame excuses. I still reached out, but for some reason Peter seemed extremely busy this past year. The one time I’d managed to catch him on Skype, he’d been distant and rushed me off saying, “He was late meeting someone and needed to run.” That left a zillion assumptions reeling inside of me, but I convinced myself to push my nerves aside and believe that once he saw me everything would be all right.

So, this summer on our yearly trip to the Caribbean, I told myself to not fall completely into pieces like some idiot. Not this year. I was determined to not fall over my own two feet when he looked or spoke to me. The problem was not his to-die-for-good looks, but the adorable way he talked always seemed to make my heart melt. But, what girl didn’t love those adora
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Jennifer Million
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Accents? (One space) I’d been literally, counting

s? I was literally counting down the minutes until I would see him again. Spending ten whole days in paradise was simply going to be the icing on the cake. I couldn’t wait to get started.

   Finally in the hotel room, I dumped my clothes out onto my bed and looked for my suit. It was early afternoon, which left me plenty of time to reconnect with Peter. I couldn’t wait for him to see me in my turquoise bikini, so itty-bitty it’s probably illegal in some states. But I figured what the hey: Europeans love this kind of stuff, right?

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Jennifer Million
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Try this: Once we’re granted access to our room, I dumped my clothes upon the bed, and looked for my suit. It was early afternoon but I still had a lot of flirting to do. I couldn’t wait for Peter to see me in my turquoise bikini, so itty-bity it’s probably illegal in some states. But I figured what the hey, Europeans love this kind of stuff, right?

   I quickly changed out of my “travel clothes” and into my bikini; tying the little strings to the suit tight around my neck and back. I wrapped my sarong around my waist and quickly did a once over in the mirror. After applying my pink petal gloss I smacked my lips together, I gathered my iPod with new songs for Peter that I was sure he’d love. Peter had always loved traditional Irish music. Bands like: The Sawdoctors, The Pogues and Flogging Molly.  Even I couldn’t resist tapping my feet along to the sounds of the music. So before we left I searched ITunes like mad to download songs for him.  I couldn’t wait to share the music, imagining lying next to each other sharing the earbuds. One sticking into his ear the other in mine. He would smile at me as we listened to the music and maybe even hold my hand.

            
             
I hurried into the foyer of the suite.

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Jennifer Million
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I quickly changed out of my arrival clothes and into my bikini tying the little strings to the suit tight around my neck and back. I did a once over in the mirror, applied pink petal lipgloss, smacked my lips together and hurried into the foyer of our suite.

             
Standing in the vacant entryway, I hollered,“Mom, I’m going down now.”

             
      My mom peeked around the corner of her bedroom

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Jennifer Million
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Peeked around the corner of her bedroom, “Soph, could you please unpack first? If everything in there is crumpled up in a ball it will need to be ironed and I don’t want to iron on my vacation.”

. “Soph, could you please unpack first? 

             
While holding onto the doorknob leading me to be within minutes of seeing Peter, I turned and said, “It’s already done.” This was a semi-lie. I had unpacked my bathing suit and make-up bag and left everything else inside my luggage.

             
She rolled her eyes and sighed. “Fine. Tell Anna I’ll be down in a bit.”

             
“Got it,” I answered as I cranked the handle to open the door.

             
My heart raced at the thought of seeing Peter. Would he look different from last year? I was positive his brown hair and perfect chocolate brown eyes would still be as intoxicating as ever. I never told him this, but I loved the retro glasses that he wore. Well, he had to wear. He was as blind as a bat without them. What I wasn’t expecting when I finally weaved my way through the crowd to the pool was the newest addition that he’d brought with him. I stood and hid behind the pool bar watching them from a distance, I felt like the moronic idiot I didn’t want to be. He laughed when she spoke. He grabbed her hand when she smiled. I couldn’t believe it. The guy that made up every one of my dreams was sprawled out next to a redheaded bombshell. And obviously crushing over her and not me.  Did that kiss last year mean nothing to him? How could he do this to me?

             
“Sophie, sweetheart look at you?”  Mrs. Watson (aka Aunt Anna) grabbed my shoulders spinning me around. Jeez, where did she come from?

             
“Hi Aunt Anna. It’s so great to see you.”

She snaked her arm into mine, covering my hand with hers. “Come say hello to Peter. He can’t wait to see you.” It didn’t look that way to me. My heart felt like it was shattering little by little as we continued to get closer.

             
“Mom said that she’d be down soon.” I paused briefly, the curiosity was beginning to kill me. “Um, who’s that with Peter?” I asked, shyly pointing toward them.

I watched as she tilted her glasses onto the tip of her nose. “That’s Claire. Peter didn’t tell you? She’s quite lovely.” She smiled and pulled me forward. “I’m sure you two will hit it off. Besides, my sister and her son came with us this year and I need you to keep poor Ethan busy for me. He keeps complaining that he’s sick of being the third wheel. You remember Ethan, right? I know it’s been awhile.”